Claims
- 1. An anti-theft device mountable in a vehicle to limit rotation of a vehicle steering wheel comprising, first and second attachment means, means supporting said first and second attachment means for displacement relative to one another between mounting and storage positions, key operated lock means for releasably locking said first and second attachment means in said mounting position against relative displacement toward said storage position, supplemental lock means separate from said key operated lock means, said supplemental lock means having locked and unlocked conditions with respect to said first and second attachment means, said supplemental lock means normally being in said unlocked condition, and means for shifting said supplemental lock means from said unlocked to said locked condition in response to tampering with either one of said key operated lock means and said supplemental lock means.
- 2. An anti-theft according to claim 1, wherein said means supporting said first and second attachment means comprises tubular housing means having an axis and axially opposite ends and rod means axially slidably received in said housing means and having an inner end therein and an outer end extending outwardly from one of said opposite ends, one of said first and second attachment means being on said housing means and the other on said outer end of said rod means, said key operated lock means being supported in a mounted position on said housing means for locking said rod means against axial displacement inwardly of said housing means relative to said one of said opposite ends of said housing means, and said supplemental lock means being supported in said housing means for locking said rod means against axial displacement inwardly of said housing means in response to tampering with one of said key operated lock means and said supplemental lock means.
- 3. An anti-theft device according to claim 2, wherein said means for shifting includes means for shifting said supplemental lock means to said locked condition in response to displacement of said key operated lock means from said mounted position.
- 4. An anti-theft device according to claim 3, wherein said rod means has notch means therein between said inner and outer ends thereof, said key operated lock means includes keeper means for engaging said notch means for locking said rod means against said axial displacement, and said supplemental lock means includes supplemental keeper means displacable between a first position disengaging said notch means and a second position engaging said notch means to lock said rod means against said axial displacement, said shifting means normally maintaining said supplemental keeper means in said first position.
- 5. An anti-theft device according to claim 4, wherein said shifting means has a first position maintaining said supplemental keeper means in said first position thereof and a second position releasing said supplemental keeper means for movement to said second position thereof engaging said notch means.
- 6. An anti-theft device according to claim 5, wherein said shifting means engages said key operated lock means in said mounted position thereof for said key operated lock means to position said shifting means in said first position thereof, and means for displacing said shifting means to said second position thereof in response to displacement of said key operated lock means from said mounted position thereof to disengage said shifting means.
- 7. An anti-theft device according to claim 6, wherein said means for displacing said shifting means includes biasing spring means.
- 8. An anti-theft device according to claim 5, wherein said shifting means has a third position releasing said supplemental keeper means for movement to said second position thereof, said second and third positions of said shifting means being in opposite directions from said first position thereof.
- 9. An anti-theft device mountable in a vehicle to limit rotation of a vehicle steering wheel comprising, first and second attachment means, means supporting said first and second attachment means for displacement relative to one another between mounting and storage positions, key operated lock means for releasably locking said first and second attachment means in said mounting position against relative displacement toward said storage position, supplemental lock means having locked and unlocked conditions with respect to said first and second attachment means, said supplemental lock means normally being in said unlocked condition, means for shifting said supplemental lock means from said unlocked to said locked condition in response to tampering with one of said key operated lock means and said supplemental lock means, said means supporting said first and second attachment means comprising tubular housing means having an axis and axially opposite ends and rod means axially slidably received in said housing means and having an inner end therein and an outer end extending outwardly from one of said opposite ends, one of said first and second attachment means being on said housing means and the other on said outer end of said rod means, said key operated lock means being supported in a mounted position on said housing means for locking said rod means against axial displacement inwardly of said housing means relative to said one of said opposite ends of said housing means, said supplemental lock means being supported in said housing means for locking said rod means against axial displacement inwardly of said housing means in response to tampering with one of said key operated lock means and said supplemental lock means, means for shifting including means for shifting said supplemental lock means to said locked condition in response to displacement of said key operated lock means from said mounted position, said rod means having notch means therein between said inner and outer ends thereof, said key operated lock means including keeper means for engaging said notch means for locking said rod means against said axial displacement, said supplemental lock means including supplemental keeper means displacable between a first position disengaging said notch means and a second position engaging said notch means to lock said rod means against said axial displacement, said shifting means normally maintaining said supplemental keeper means in said first position, said key operated lock means having a lock axis and said shifting means including shifting member means reciprocable transverse to said lock axis between first and second positions and having an end engaging said key operated lock means in said mounted position thereof to position said shifting member means in said first position, said shifting member means in said first position thereof engaging with said supplemental keeper means to maintain said supplemental keeper means in said first position thereof, means for displacing said shifting member means from said first to said second position thereof in response to displacement of said key operated lock means out of engagement with said end of said shifting member means, and said shifting member means in said second position thereof releasing said supplemental keeper means for displacement to said second position thereof.
- 10. An anti-theft device according to claim 9, wherein said supplemental keeper means is supported in said housing means for reciprocating displacement transverse to said shifting member means and has an end engaging said shifting member means in said first position thereof, said shifting member means having an opening therethrough, and said supplemental keeper means in said second position of said shifting member means extending through said opening and into said second position of said supplemental keeper means engaging said notch means.
- 11. An anti-theft device according to claim 10, wherein said supplemental keeper means includes a pin, and spring means biasing said pin to extend through said opening in said shifting member means.
- 12. An anti-theft device according to claim 10, wherein said means for displacing said shifting member means includes biasing spring means.
- 13. An anti-theft device according to claim 12, wherein said shifting member means has a third position releasing said supplemental keeper means for movement to said second position thereof, said second and third positions of said shifting member means being in opposite directions from said first position thereof.
- 14. An anti-theft device according to claim 13, wherein said opening through said shifting member means is a first opening and said shifting member means has a second opening therethrough spaced from said first opening, said supplemental keeper means in said third position of said shifting member means extending through said second opening and into said second position of said supplemental keeper means engaging said notch means.
- 15. An anti-theft device according to claim 14, wherein said first and second openings through said shifting member means are on opposite sides of said supplemental keeper means in said first position of said shifting member means.
- 16. An anti-theft device according to claim 15, wherein said supplemental keeper means includes a pin, and spring means biasing said pin to extend through said first and second openings in said shifting member means.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 322,478 filed Oct. 17, 1994.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
322478 |
Oct 1994 |
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